About shill bids, what are some giveaways when you as a buyer encounter them ?

[audiovideotogo]

So ebay will make a final determination if there is any bid shilling involved in the sale of an item?

[reallynicestamps · Accepted solution]

If there seem to be a lot of bids from the same bidder (you have to look at the number of feedback because eBay for other reasons made all names private) but the bidder NEVER WINS, you may be looking at a shiller.

If the same person keeps winning, this is not shilling, just a persistent repeat buyer. We sellers love those.

The point of shilling is not to win but to make you pay your top dollar.

Bid once, bid late, bid your max and you don't have to worry about shilling.

[ok_so_im_50]

"If the same person keeps winning, this is not shilling"

Not necessarily. If the shill doesn't retract soon enough, they may end up the winner. Or in the case of the shill bidder I've been reporting, the seller frequently cancels their bids. When the shill does win, the seller has left feedback staying "stop bidding" or when they cancel the bids, the seller leave bogus reasons for cancelling indicating the bidder is blocked but they somehow are still able to bid.

The shill have won hundreds of items but the seller immediately relists the items won by the shill.

When the seller was cancelling the bids, I had reported them. Apparently they have gotten a warning from ebay because they have cancelled a lot less but have now increased the number of retractions they have and they are now allowing the shill to win more so it appears it isn't shill bidding when I know it is.

By the way, the "bidder" name is the same as Kate Middleton's husband with a .h1981 on the end and the seller name is the nickname of Philidelphia with a 267 in front and 67 in back.